Giving Thanks
Stories
Morris stared at the plain white tiles of the hospital ceiling and wondered how much longer he would have to wait for the nurse to come and get him. He looked around at the curtains surrounding the waiting area and pulled the blanket over his feet. He sighed loudly.
“Bored?” a voice asked from the other side of the curtain.
“Yeah,” Morris replied. “I just want this over.”
“I hear you. You rush to get here for an appointment, you rush to provide all your information, and you rush to get into a hospital gown and onto the stretcher and then they park you here and you wait.” The voice chuckled. “Oh well, at least its pretty quiet.”
“I just wish they would hurry up.”
“What are you having done?” the voice asked.
“A scope.”
“Ah. I’m here for my third. They’re not too bad.”
“Really?”
“They give you a couple of needles, you fall asleep in seconds, and next thing you know is that you’re back here.” The voice paused. “Even the discomfort passes a couple of hours afterward.”
Morris tilted his head. That didn’t sound too bad. “How long is it before you know the results?”
“Depends. If they find something they have to send it off to the lab and that takes a couple of weeks at least. That happened to me the second time.” The voice coughed. “But if they find nothing then they let you know right away. That was my first time. Nothing sweeter than that.”
“I doubt that’ll happen to me. They’re pretty sure there’s a problem. That’s why I’m here.”
The voice chuckled. “That’s why we’re all here.”
“I guess.” Morris sighed again. “I just wish I knew how much longer I have to wait.”
“You got somewhere else to be?”
“On Thanksgiving week? I’ve got lots of places I would rather be than here waiting on a stretcher,” Morris said. “Of course this Thanksgiving is ruined no matter what. I’ve been on pins and needles for the last three weeks waiting for this procedure and all I’ll be doing for the next three weeks is waiting for the results to come back.”
“So has it helped any?”
Morris frowned. “Has what helped?”
“The worry?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then why are you worrying?”
“I’m worrying because I haven’t been feeling well and my doctor thinks there is something wrong with me but has no idea what it might be.”
“So why worry?”
Morris clenched his fists. “Because I don’t know what else to do.”
“I’ve decided to be thankful this time.”
“Thankful because you have to have a procedure and might be sick?”
There was some laughter and then some coughing. “Man, I already know I’m sick. No, I figure that me spending my time worrying about it isn’t going to change anything so I decided to be thankful instead. I’ve got today, I’m going to have a turkey dinner day after tomorrow and I’ve got some family coming in to visit. Don’t you have something to be thankful for?”
“Well sure. I’ve got a great wife and a couple of kids. I’m just worried about the future.”
“You decent?”
Morris looked down at his hospital gown. “As decent as anyone here I guess.”
The curtains rustled and a bald head poked through. “That’s better. I get tired of talking to a voice. I can’t shake your hand cause I finished chemo last week and my count is still low. Are you a church goer?”
“Yeah, I go.”
“Well Jesus said we couldn’t add anything to our lives by worrying and I don’t know how much time I’ve got so I’ve decided that I’m going to spend that time enjoying, appreciating, and living,” the bald man said. “I overheard the nurse say that they were almost ready so you don’t have to wait long.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. I’ll pray that they don’t find anything when they do your scope.”
“Thanks,”
“But if they do don’t forget that it isn’t the end of the world.” The bald man disappeared back to his side of the curtain.
The nurse pulled back the curtain on Morris’s area and checked his armband. “We’re ready to go if you are.”
Morris nodded and they started to wheel him away. He looked over at the curtain next to him. “Hey. I hope things go well for you, too.”
A hand giving a thumbs up appeared through the curtain and Morris watched the ceiling tiles pass as they wheeled him into the operating room. He closed his eyes and asked for God to be with him and to be with the others here for procedures. As the nurse gave him a needle he whispered a prayer of thanks and drifted off to sleep.
*****************************************
StoryShare, November 22, 2018, issue.
Copyright 2018 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
“Bored?” a voice asked from the other side of the curtain.
“Yeah,” Morris replied. “I just want this over.”
“I hear you. You rush to get here for an appointment, you rush to provide all your information, and you rush to get into a hospital gown and onto the stretcher and then they park you here and you wait.” The voice chuckled. “Oh well, at least its pretty quiet.”
“I just wish they would hurry up.”
“What are you having done?” the voice asked.
“A scope.”
“Ah. I’m here for my third. They’re not too bad.”
“Really?”
“They give you a couple of needles, you fall asleep in seconds, and next thing you know is that you’re back here.” The voice paused. “Even the discomfort passes a couple of hours afterward.”
Morris tilted his head. That didn’t sound too bad. “How long is it before you know the results?”
“Depends. If they find something they have to send it off to the lab and that takes a couple of weeks at least. That happened to me the second time.” The voice coughed. “But if they find nothing then they let you know right away. That was my first time. Nothing sweeter than that.”
“I doubt that’ll happen to me. They’re pretty sure there’s a problem. That’s why I’m here.”
The voice chuckled. “That’s why we’re all here.”
“I guess.” Morris sighed again. “I just wish I knew how much longer I have to wait.”
“You got somewhere else to be?”
“On Thanksgiving week? I’ve got lots of places I would rather be than here waiting on a stretcher,” Morris said. “Of course this Thanksgiving is ruined no matter what. I’ve been on pins and needles for the last three weeks waiting for this procedure and all I’ll be doing for the next three weeks is waiting for the results to come back.”
“So has it helped any?”
Morris frowned. “Has what helped?”
“The worry?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then why are you worrying?”
“I’m worrying because I haven’t been feeling well and my doctor thinks there is something wrong with me but has no idea what it might be.”
“So why worry?”
Morris clenched his fists. “Because I don’t know what else to do.”
“I’ve decided to be thankful this time.”
“Thankful because you have to have a procedure and might be sick?”
There was some laughter and then some coughing. “Man, I already know I’m sick. No, I figure that me spending my time worrying about it isn’t going to change anything so I decided to be thankful instead. I’ve got today, I’m going to have a turkey dinner day after tomorrow and I’ve got some family coming in to visit. Don’t you have something to be thankful for?”
“Well sure. I’ve got a great wife and a couple of kids. I’m just worried about the future.”
“You decent?”
Morris looked down at his hospital gown. “As decent as anyone here I guess.”
The curtains rustled and a bald head poked through. “That’s better. I get tired of talking to a voice. I can’t shake your hand cause I finished chemo last week and my count is still low. Are you a church goer?”
“Yeah, I go.”
“Well Jesus said we couldn’t add anything to our lives by worrying and I don’t know how much time I’ve got so I’ve decided that I’m going to spend that time enjoying, appreciating, and living,” the bald man said. “I overheard the nurse say that they were almost ready so you don’t have to wait long.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. I’ll pray that they don’t find anything when they do your scope.”
“Thanks,”
“But if they do don’t forget that it isn’t the end of the world.” The bald man disappeared back to his side of the curtain.
The nurse pulled back the curtain on Morris’s area and checked his armband. “We’re ready to go if you are.”
Morris nodded and they started to wheel him away. He looked over at the curtain next to him. “Hey. I hope things go well for you, too.”
A hand giving a thumbs up appeared through the curtain and Morris watched the ceiling tiles pass as they wheeled him into the operating room. He closed his eyes and asked for God to be with him and to be with the others here for procedures. As the nurse gave him a needle he whispered a prayer of thanks and drifted off to sleep.
*****************************************
StoryShare, November 22, 2018, issue.
Copyright 2018 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
